"The Stack" 9-17-19
Drew Brees is out for roughly six weeks after he injured some ligaments in his thumb when he hit Aaron Donald's hand on a throw in the first quarter against the Rams on Sunday. Brees' injury was just one of several injuries to big time QBs over the week.
The Stack is back on this Tuesday and we were on a trip over the weekend through Monday and that is why we did not have a blog on Monday. We have a brief recap to all of week 2’s NFL games so let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Tuesday, September 17th:
Cardinals 17 Ravens 23
Give rookie QB Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals credit. They did not back down at all and made the Baltimore Ravens work for this one, but through two weeks, no one has been more impressive than Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. He ran for over 100 yards and threw for another 272 as the Ravens won. Jackson looks unstoppable so far.
49ers 41 Bengals 17
This is the Cincinnati Bengals team I was expecting to see week one. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garappolo was sensational and the 49ers running game was sound as they whooped up on the Bengals. Two road wins to start the year. Impressive.
Chargers 10 Lions 13
I have no idea how the Detroit Lions won this game. Actually I do. The Los Angeles Chargers didn’t have their kicker so their punter had to attempt field goals and missed two of them. Running back Austin Ekeler fumbled at the goal line and Philip Rivers threw an interception. But Rivers did run for 12 yards. So there’s that. Ugly loss for the Chargers.
Vikings 16 Packers 21
Minnesota Vikings fans on the fence about quarterback Kirk Cousins need look no further than the ill-fated interception Cousins threw on first and goal with five minutes left to go in the fourth quarter. Instead of throwing the ball away, he threw in double coverage to Stefon Diggs and it was picked off. Was reminiscent of the throw Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan made the week before in Minnesota. Make no mistake about it, it wasn’t entirely Cousins’ fault that the Vikings lost. The defense put them in an early 21-0 hole, Dan Bailey missed a field goal and the officiating in this game was some of the worst I’ve ever seen (that Diggs touchdown that was called back because of offensive pass interference on Dalvin Cook in the second quarter…horseshit), but Cousins isn’t doing enough to convince fans he can lead the Vikings to the promised land.
Jaguars 12 Texans 13
Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Garnder Minshew is the real deal. He led the Jaguars back to the game-tying touchdown against Houston only to have head coach Doug Marrone go for two for the win and have it fail. Then you have Jalen Ramsey going after his coach. Things are kind of eesh in Duval County.
Patriots 43 Dolphins 0
In case you had any doubt that the Miami Dolphins are tanking the season away, those doubts were removed after this game. The offense is terrible. The defense can’t stop anyone (now they have traded Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a first round pick). They are the worst football team I have seen in years. Antonio Brown caught a touchdown for the Patriots for what it’s worth.
Bills 28 Giants 14
The Buffalo Bills are 2-0 at MetLife Stadium this year. Too bad they don’t play all of their games there. Their defense is great, quarterback Josh Allen is playing fine. The Giants are a mess. The clock is ticking for Eli Manning and his time as starting quarterback for the Giants.
Seahawks 28 Steelers 26
Slow start to this game, but it was great later. Big story in this one…Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left the game with an elbow injury and he is now out for the season as he will undergo surgery. In Mason Rudolph, the Steelers trust. Seahawks are 2-0 and have won by a combined three points.
Colts 19 Titans 17
If I am a Tennessee Titans fan, when the pyrotechnics went awry and the field started on fire, that would seem to be an omen for how the day would go. Despite Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri missing yet another two extra points, the Titans couldn’t find a way to win. Yikes!
Cowboys 31 Washington 21
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was once again fantastic throwing for 269 yards and rushing for an additional 69 as Dallas took care of Washington. Pay the man, Jerry Jones. He is going to keep costing you. He has played great through two games.
Chiefs 28 Raiders 10
Four touchdown passes for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Not in the game. Not in one half, but in one quarter. The second quarter to be exact. Mahomes was great and that was all the Chiefs needed to get out of the Black Hole with the victory.
Bears 16 Broncos 14
As bad as the officiating in the Vikings-Packers game was, the Bears-Broncos game was far worse. From questionable roughing the passer penalties to letting the Bears get a timeout called when it looked like there was no time remaining. The officials put a second on the clock and Bears kicker Eddy Piniero hit the game-winning field goal from 50 plus. The Bears have their kicker.
Saints 9 Rams 27
Normally the big story we would be talking about is the New Orleans Saints getting screwed once again by the officials on a touchdown called back because they blew the whistle rather than let the play play itself out. I’m talking of course about Saints defensive end Cam Jordan scooping up a Jared Goff fumble and running for a touchdown. Nope, refs blew the whistle. Saints got the ball where Jordan recovered. However, that was overshadowed by the thumb injury that starting quarterback Drew Brees suffered when he hit Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s hand. He’s out roughly six weeks. The Saints season could very well be over. Good luck Teddy Bridgewater.
Eagles 20 Falcons 24
The Philadelphia Eagles were the walking wounded. Alshon Jeffrey out. Dallas Goeder, out. DeSean Jackson, out. Carson Wentz even had to leave for a few plays. Yet somehow they found themselves with the lead and about ready to win with the Atlanta Falcons facing a 4th and 3 when Matt Ryan threw a short slip pass to Julio Jones who caught it and took off 54 yards for the game-winning score. Falcons win. Amazing finish.
Browns 23 Jets 3
Facing the Trevor Semien led New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns won easily. They weren’t completely crisp, but Odell Beckham Jr. caught an 89-yard touchdown and had over 160 yards receiving for the game. The Browns need to get sharper, but they did get the win Monday night and that was big.
Coming up later this week: College football weekend forecast and NFL week 3 picks.
